Heart Healthy Paella

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Heart Healthy Paella

One of the most popular dishes to have at weekends with friends and family when there is more time to enjoy cooking and sharing this talking point dish. The basics are easy to master and once you do, you can learn to add a variety of meats or fish to suit your preferences and to keep the recipe new and fresh each time.

 

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 Frying chicken
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Juice from ½ lemon
  • 1 pound shrimp (frozen or fresh in shells)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • ½ cup chopped green pepper
  • 1 tomato
  • 2 cups rice
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Pinch saffron
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1 pound shelled peas (canned or frozen)

Optional:

Crab, lobster, mussels or other preferred sea food

 

What to do:

1. Cut up 1 frying chicken, cover with water, add ½ teaspoon salt and juice of ½ lemon

2. Simmer until the chicken is tender, reserve the water in which it is cooked

3. Boil the shrimp for 2 minutes in around 2 cups of water. Save the water and remove shells from shrimp (you can cheat with pre-cooked shrimp)

4. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in heavy skillet

5. Add ½ cup chopped onion and ½ cup chopped green pepper and cook in skillet until brown

6. Cut tomato in small pieces and add to mixture in skillet

7. Add cooked chicken and continue to cook until chicken is brown

8. Add 2 cups raw rice

9. In a mortar mix 1 clove garlic, chopped, add pinch of saffron, and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley with 2 tablespoons chicken broth (juice from cooking chicken at start)

10. Add mortar mix ingredients to mixture in skillet and season with salt to taste

11. Add 5 cups combined fluid in which shrimp and chicken were originally cooked, and 1 pound peas

12. Boil for 10 minutes

13. Transfer to shallow baking dish in which paella will spread out to about 2 inches in depth and place in preheated oven at 400°F (200 degrees °C) for 10 minutes

14. Remove from oven, cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Serves 8, around 455 calories per serving